In building structures or repairing buildings, scaffolding is used as a work platform in order that workers can access raised portions that are not accessible from the ground. Some typical uses of scaffolding are in painting buildings, hanging rain gutter on steep roofs, laying of bricks or masonry and any other work which requires a worker to be off the ground to complete the task.
The most common scaffold is probably two saw-horses with a plank between them, however, this does not allow for work at extended heights. Another extremely common scaffold is the build as you go which must be torn down to move when that portion of the building or work area is complete. It also requires that the work station be torn down each time as elevation change is necessary.
There are also some mobile scaffolding which utilize a vertical tower structure in which the work platform is mounted on the tower and is driven up and down by motor. The device does not require a tear down to change elevation of the work station as the platform merely moves up and down the tower. Such devices are not easily utilized except on relatively flat terrain without obstacles.
Although the mobile scaffold is an improvement to the typical fixed scaffold, it lacks versatility to used where there are various obstacles such as fences and uneven terrain. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,587, Mims, Jr. et al, discloses a mobile scaffold, however it is a very bulky unit designed to be moved around by a vehicle and is not capable of accommodating obstacles and rough terrain.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,591, Fisher discloses a pedestal scaffold which can be rolled around by a single person, however the device is bulky, not easily transported and is not beneficial for use on rough terrain or where there are various obstacles such as fences and the like.
Ream et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,373 discloses a mobile pedestal scaffold having similar disadvantages as Fisher above. It is bulky, not easily transported and is basically unusable on rough terrain.
Novarini, U.S. Pat. No. 4,569,418 discloses a system which may be used as a fire escape for tall buildings however would be impractical for use as a scaffold and has all the disadvantages previously described as well as it is incapable of being easily transported by an individual.
Although Beeche, U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,055 shows a unique movable roof mounted suspension scaffold system it is quite cumbersome with extensive time required for tear down or erection and could not be managed by a single individual or easily transported.
As can be seen by the prior art there are no scaffold devices currently available which provide the benefits of being light weight, easily transported by a single individual such as in the back of a pickup truck, has minimum time required to set up or tear down and is readily adaptable to rough terrain and obstacles.
Additionally, one of the major difficulties with the use of scaffolding is the additional time required for the assemble and disassembly of the scaffolding. Even with the so called mobile scaffolding described hereinabove, there is substantial amounts of time required to get the equipment ready so that the actual work intended to be performed can be started. Additionally, the small contractor generally does not have the financial where with all to purchase these types of equipment even if they could do the job which they will not. Instead, many times a plank is run been two ladders or some other make shift device is utilized.